Gear shift



L. L. LEECE Aug. 7, 1934.

GEAR SHIFT 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7, L. L. LEECE 1,969,416

GEAR SHIFT Original Filed Sept. 25, 19:50 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 50 nections.

rn rsm. DTFICEf I i .iinnlicationtseptemberzi 1aao,..se'ria1-. N6..- 484,273

.Reneivedlleceniberfzh.19.3.3

This invention relates :to impmvcmentssin. g ar shifts and has to do principally with mechanism :for shifting gearsihy the zoperation'zofrthe clutch lever,alone,.jtherebyeiiminating themsual hand shiftdever. Thepresent invention is'in the nature of an improvement over the" construction covered thyi'myiprior Patent 181051 450345 issued Apri1':3, 1923. 7

.. One of the objcots:ofitherinventionzistthe provi- :10 -sion inappa-ratusof thisdiindrof a'footele'vereape- .ble ofizmovementtransvexselyfor onemlli fpflseaand longitudina'llyzior another ip pese. 1

Anotheraobject,ofithezinvention.is'the provision vof.alatcl'ifor preventing thezaccidental movement 1 of :the shifting rmechanism rtowreverse gear qaosiation, and the :provision :of means :independentof the shift lever-for withdrawing this latch when reverse gear is to the .rpurposely :employed.

A further object is theiprovision of arsignal for indicating :to-the operator that the latch is in the withdrawn position, sowthathe will not .iail to reset 'the latchaftertherishiftxis completed.

Other objects .and :features of novelty will ap- :pear as I proceed'rwithithe description ofzthatrem- .2 bodimentrof'the invention which, for thepurposes of the present application, :IJhave illustrated ,in

the accompanying drawings', inrwhich Figure 1 is anelevational view, partly in sec- :tion, illustrating -.the operating lever. "and lassociated mechanism employed zin connection with my gearshift. 1

' .Fig. '2 is a-plan view with the topseof themasings removed, illustrating the operating mechanism and the gear shift mechanism proper as applied 135 to an automobile transmission. 7

Fig. 3 is a detail, .-vertica1,:sectional view-taken substantially on the -line 3-3 of Fig. ;2. 1:

.Fig. A is *a longitu'dinal, sectional view taken substantiallyronxthe line ai i of Fig. 1. a V

Fig. ".5 is a fragmental viewofthe I transmission casingwithra portion of the gearshift mechafnism mounted thereon, "the view being partially in section taken :on TthBi1ine'-5-;5 yOfFig; 2.

Fig. 6 isaatransVer-Se, substantially vertical,

5 sectionalwiew onthe lined- 6 of ;Fi'g. 4. .1

Fig.- '57 .is a v'fragmental, detail, elevational view showing a portion of the :latch :mechanism-on a *larger:scale,,.a-nd p :flZFig. .Btis a diagram of the electrical-icon- The inventionas illustrated herein comprises a 'foot'lever 10 zmounted inuthe :forward end of a casing 11 -containing certain operating mechanism, a' pair of concentric shafts :12 and :13 niounted'at one end inicasing -11 and'at the other end in-iaicasing 14 which ;is secured to the :top rofrthegearbox 150i the:automobile, the-easing .14; containing gear shifting elements .There-d-s also a aconnection between the lever tl0 and the clutch 16=.-of the ;automobile, -.such}that the movement of the lever-10 serves-to releasel-the clutch.

A pedal ,17; having *anintegral army 18 is pivotally mounted at 19 upon thelever 1Q, therarm l8 rextending :downwardly; through that-rportion -of the hollow .lever whichprotrudes-upwardly through the floor boards-20. The lever :10 -.-is mo mted to swing .notonly the -.usual:or longi- .tudinal direction, butalsoztransversely ine manner which resembles ,somewhat;.the transverse Q movement of-the ordinary'handshift lever. The tilting'of the pedal 17. corresponds ,in some trespects to the forward and rearward movement of the-ordinary hand shift lever, -.b.ut this. tilting doesnotactually shift the gears; It merely sets '75. themechanism so that When-the lever 1!) is depressed sufiiciently :the shift will ;be efiected in the desired manner. I 1 7 Referring to the drawings now somewhat more .in.detai1,;21 ahorizontal=-clntch shifting lever pivoted to-the=clutch casingrat 22 andconnected .at its -outer end :to a .link .23 -which 'is :pivotally anchored inz oneto f theseries of holes 24 in .-an arm.25 fixed to and depending from the lever -10. Th8-1BV6I -21 is normal1y.-held--:in clutch 'engaging .position hy a spring '26, indicated diagramrmatically-in Figs-2. 1

-In the casing 14--there are :slidablymounted ta secured .yckes 29.and30, respectively, that en- 96 gage ggrooyes-in the collars attached -to-the :movsable v:agear members of the transmission. The movement of one; of these yokes' effects the sgear (shift between low and reverse positions and the other that hetween second speedz andhigh speed positions. To the rear ends of *therods :27 land -28rare pivotally (connected links 31 and 32- which, in turn, are pivotally -connected with the lower -ends of cranlgzarms 32 and;33. The crank arm 33 V is pinned to shaft .12, while. arm 321s -.pinned to the hollow shaft or sleeve 13 which surrounds shaft ;12. When either of the shafts .1-2 or l'3 is oscillated ,thecorresponding-rodz'l or 28-issmoved (longitudinally. -Each of theserods is releasably held in any one-of its three positions by aispring detent -34=that is adapted to take into one in of the notches 35 in the upper side of the rod. 7

the casingl-l the shafts 1 2. and .13 carry depending crank arrnsBfi and 37, respectively, .the lower ends of which are preferably 'provided 36 and 37 stand normally in the position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 1. The positions of the anti-friction rollers 38 corresponding to the gear engaging positions of the gear shift are indicated in the same figure in dotted lines at A and B.

In the forward end of the casing 11 there is a pair of semi-cylindrical trunnion blocks 39 which have central extensions that are rotatably mount- 7 ed in the casing 11. They are held in proper position relative to each other by their mounting in the bearings. blocks 39 are recessed, as indicated at 41, and the lever 10 projects through the opening pro vided thereby. Midway of its lengththis opening 1:

is enlarged to provide a bearingfor a flat circular enlargement 42 of the lever, wlriich is} concentric with approximately vertical top and bottom trunnions 43 which project into openings in g the,

blocks 39 formed to receive them. v

That portion of the lever 10 which is beneath the floor boards 20'is hollow throughout the greater part of its length and contains a longitudinally movable rod '45 which is pivotally connected tothelowerend of the pedal arm 18. where the lever 10 passes through the blocks 39 it may be merely recessed, as indicated in Fig. 6,

for. the accommodation of the rod 45. v

The rear end of the lever 10 sup orts a pair of spaced upstanding cam plates 46 and 47, which are located normally directly below the crank arms 36'and 37. The cam plates 46 and 4'7 are duplicates. They are each provided withdouble cam surfaceswhich diverge upwardly, and which merge into a groove 48 at their-lower ends. The groove '48 extends substantially along an arc struck'from the axis of the trunnion blocks 39. It will be apparent that when one or the other of the anti-friction rollers 38 is in one of the'dotted line positionsof Fig. 1, the depression of the forward end of lever 10 will cause the corresponding cam surface of the lever 46 or 47, as the case may be, to shift such anti-friction wheel to its full line, or'neutral, position.

Depending from the cam p1ates'46 and 4'7 are lips 49 in which is mounted apivot pin 50 that supports an intermediate cam plate 51.- This cam plate is-shaped like a spear head, that is it has cam surfaces on its upper edges which converge toward the top. Depending below the pivotpin 50't-here' is an extension of the cam plate 51 to which is pivotally connected at 52 the rear end of the rod 45, this rod being deflecteddownwardlybehind the trunnion blocks 39-. By tilting the pedal 17 forward or backward the-rod 45 1s caused to move longitudinally and to' shift the cam plate 51 from a forward to a backward position, or ,vice versa. 'Gravity tends to maintain'it' in either of these-two positionsj; w en the lever 10 is in its intermediateposition' transversely it may be swung longitudinally without causing'the cam plate'51 to contact with-either one of the rollers 38, that" is the cam plate 51 7 moves upwardly'between' these rollers. However if the lever 10'is swung to the right or tojthe'left andthen swung longitudinally the cam plate 51 'will' engage one or the other of therol1ers-36'and willshift it to .a dotted line position.

v connection with my invention I prefer'to employ a latch which'is so constructed and arrangedjas to prevent accidental shifting of the gears to thereverse position. This device-is not essential to my invention in some of its broader aspects, nor is'its application limited to a gear shift mechanism of thecharacter herein dis- The adjacent faces of the 53. The latter lever. is prevented from swinging rearwardly by a latch 5'7 on the rear end of a lever 58 which is pivoted at 59 to a bracket on the'bottom,,of-.casing 11, and which is held normallyin the latching position by a weight 60. If

it is the drivers' intention to operate the shift mechanism to reverse gear position, he must usemanu-al means for withdrawing the latch 57,

after which the rod 45 may be moved toward the resin-swinging the lever 53-against the slight tension'of sprin'g'55. 1,

While variousmeans may be employed for withdrawing-the latch 57, I preferto utilize electrical means' comprising an electromagnet 61 supported within thec-asing .11, and serving when energized to elevate its armature62 and thereby a pull rod 63 which is pivotally connected with the lever 58 forward of its fulcrum 59; 1 As indicated in Fig 8, the electromagnet 61 may be arranged in "a circuit with'the starting and lighting battery 64 through a control switch-'65. The arrangement is preferably such, however, that the closing of switch 65 willbe' ineffctive unless the ignition switch 66 is closed; I prefer also to loc'ate a signal lamp'6'7 in a shunt across this circuit. The lamp 6'7is mounted upon the instrument board'of the automobile. The. ignition coil and related elements are indicated generally'at68.] So long-as theswitches 65 and 66 remain closed the lamp 6'? is illuminated. Hence it servest'o' remind the driver to open the switch 65 again andthereby reset the latch 57 after the shift into reverse gear is effected, and if he fails to do so in spite of the signal the current through coil 61 and lamp 6'I will be interrupted when the ignition is turned'off. 5 i Operation.-When the transmission is the neutral position, both of the-crank arms .36 and 3'? stand in the full line position of Fig. 1. Assuming that the operator desires to shift-to first speed, he tilts the pedal 17 rearwardlyand exerts pressure sidewise'to swing the upper end of the lever around the 'trunnions 43 toward the left.

The forward end of the lever is then depressed, pulling upon the link 23 to release the clutch. Continued depression of the lever-causes theforward edge of cam plate .5110 engage the. roller 38 on crank arm 3'7, swinging that roller to the dotted 'line position A in Fig. 1." The lever 10 effecting the shift into. secondspeed. [At the same time theforward cam surface on cam plate '47 engagesthe roller on the lowerend of crank arm 37 and shifts it from the dotted line position A back to the full line position, thereby dis- 15 engaging the first speed gears. The lever is then permitted to rise again to its normal position, after which the pedal 1'7 may be rocked rearwardly, andthe lever 10 depressed to cause cam plate 51 to shift the roller 38 on crank arm 36 from the B position to the A position, thereby disengaging the second speed gears and throwing the gearing into high. When the driver of the car desires to use reverse gear he first closes switch and then tilts pedal 17 forwardly, swings the forward end of lever 10 toward the left and depresses the lever. As soon as the lever 10 is again permitted to rise the switch 65 may be opened so as to reset the latch 57.

It is not intended that the operator in releasing the clutch for purposes other than gear shifting shall depress the foot lever further than is necessary for this operation, but when the transverse position of the lever and the adjustment of the pedal 17 are permitted to remain in the setting for the last shift, clutch releasing pressure on the lever may be as heavy as desired Without affecting the gear shift.

While in the foregoing description and in the accompanying drawings I have disclosed one particular embodiment of my invention more or less in detail, I desire it to be understood that such detail disclosure has been resorted to primarily for the purpose of fully illustrating the invention to comply with the requirements of the statute, and that such detail disclosure is not to be construed as amounting to a limitation upon the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In gear shifting mechanism, a foot lever movable laterally and longitudinally about a given center in each of two planes at right angles to each other, a tiltable pedal mounted on the upper end of said lever, and operating connections adapted to be actuated by the tilting of said pedal for prearranging an element of the shifting mechanism located on the opposite side of said center so as to enable the said mechanism to perform a predetermined operation when the lever is moved longitudinally.

2. In gear shifting mechanism, a foot lever movable laterally and longitudinally about a given point, a tiltable pedal mounted on one end of said lever, a double cam plate movably mounted on the other end of said lever, operating connections between said pedal and cam plate, whereby the cam plate may be shifted to a predetermined position so as to perform a predetermined operation when the lever is moved longitudinally.

3. In a gear shifting mechanism, a lever, a cam fixed upon said lever, a second cam parallel with said first named cam movably mounted on said lever to take any one of a plurality of different positions, and a shifting arm mounted above said cams, said lever being movable sidewise to bring either one of said first named cams into position beneath said arm, and lengthwise, whereby the'cam selected may be brought into engagement with said arm to shift the latter.

4. In a gear shifting mechanism, a lever, a pair of spaced cam plates fixed upon said lever, each of said plates having upwardly diverging cam surfaces, a middle cam plate interposed between said fixed cam plates and provided with upwardly converging cam surfaces, said middle plate being movable to shift its apex to either "forward or back position, a pair of shifter arms spaced apart approximately the same distance as said fixed cams, said fixed cams standing normally below said arms and said lever being movable laterally to bring said middle cam plate underneath either of said arms and one of the fixed cam plates underneath the remaining arm.

5. In a foot controlled gear shift for motor vehicles, a foot lever mounted to swing laterally and to swing longitudinally when in any one of a plurality of lateral positions, a foot pedal carried by said foot lever, a pair of gear shifters, devices carried by the lever and operable when the lever is moved longitudinally to move either one or both of said gear shifters to neutral position, depending upon the lateral position of the lever, and a further device movably mounted on the lever and operably connected with said foot pedal and operative when the lever is moved longitudinally for moving either of said gear shift-' ers in either of two directions, depending upon the lateral position of the lever and upon the foot pedal position.

6. In a foot control for motor vehicles, a foot lever having a lateral as well as a longitudinal swinging movement, a pedal carried by said lever and tiltable forward and backward thereupon,

a pair of gear shifters with portions thereof arranged side by side and movable in either direction to and from neutral position, and means 

